living simply

year

Last week in Athens has left me with so many mixed feelings. As I earlier mentioned in my last post that my friends are visiting me. And they have finally arrived here yesterday. We set our journey to receive them at the airport on the half empty highways at half past nine with excitement in our hearts.

The room I arranged for both my friends, one named Klara the young blonde energetic woman who is here to enjoy her summer and the other an English teacher in her mid fifties. She has been a dear friend and my only friend when I moved first to Czech Republic. Anyway, the room I found through airbnb had a fantastic authentic Greek feel to it and I loved it.

The owner being a Greek was pleasant, sweet,and an highly educated woman in her late fourties! She in fact did an fabulous arrangement for her guests to have an comfortable and extravagant stay in the heart of the city of Athens. I must say I was very much pleased and contented.

When I met my friends the day next day, they were really happy that I arranged such a wonderful stay for them. And like a holiday planned, we set out today to do some heavy sightseeing in almost thirty eight degrees Athens. We had a heart warming breakfast and set out our day by foot to Acropolis! The one monument you cannot miss whilst your stay at Athens.

So now they are out there doing all the study and enjoying the historical monument while I wait at the foothills of the Mighty Acropolis, having the oppurtunity to write a post and share my final week events with my dear friends in Athens. But unfortunately to my awe, I forgot to put in the micro card to my camera hence I promise to share you some pics along with my journey.

I always wanted to start writing to you. To buy a box and write letters and store them in the cabinet so when you turn 16 I could let you read all of them. I wanted to start writing to you on your first birthday. But hey there is never a auspicious time!

You have turned 20 months already! How time flies away! It seemed like just yesterday when you were born and how I held you in my arms for a long long time. I still recall the fresh smell from your newborn skin. You were so tiny.

Now that you are 20 months, I am no longer able to hold you like I once did because you are all grown up. You are a toddler and with no comparison to any. Every time you take a new leap in your growth I am the most happiest! There were times when I wanted you to walk, eat, talk and now you do all of that with such perfection. I enjoy you with all my heart. You are the most loved in my life.

You are my life changing experience. How I love you so unconditionally without having to think twice. How au naturale! I enjoy every bit of time I spend with you. Playing with your toys, taking you to park, seeing you communicate in your baby language to the other kids, how you say hello to every passer by while we do our evening strolls, how you enjoy our food time, bathing is always fun? Isn’t it? And the after bath is the like having to catch you while you run away, or either try eating your bum cream, or licking your hands off the body lotion! And dressing up is like dressing a doll. I take immense pleasure in dressing you and the moment you run to the mirror to have a look at how you look. And pull out your tied rubber bands from your hair so I gotta redo it all over again! You are such a wonderful little girl. Still my adorable little girl and no one can ever change that! Forever!

There are still so many new experiences that will come your way. New challenges that you would face! And I’m here with you, to walk hand in hand. To help you achieve your goals further, to lift you up when you fall, to laugh with you when your happy and make you stay strong in your sorrows. I will always be your guardian angel. Guiding you, helping you, showing you the light!

Always remember mommy loves you the most and will do anything to see you brighten up! Looking forward to a very long journey in our life!

The clock is ticking it’s hour as Greece arrives to the make or break point. I am not much of a politics lover. Since the time I have moved to the Athens in January, I have seen elections, protests, crisis, you name it. The Greece Crisis is now been the hot topic through the world. When the new anti austere party ‘Syriza’ came to power in January this year, there has been some serious discussion going on at the European Commission at Brussels for the last six months to put an end to the crisis and negotiate deals in withdrawing the debt. and today Greece has reached its height of decision making as today is the day the Greece has to return 1.6 billion to the IMF otherwise it would become default. a Yes or a No to the European central bank for accepting the lender proposals has been drawn out. Many leaflets are printed across the city of Athens and distributed to the common man with the reasons why they should say a NO rather than an YES.

As a expat, for me it is not a big of a deal. ultimately its the Greek common man that suffers the most of out of this crisis. Tomorrow being their usual pay day, half of the workers do not believe they would receive their income for the month they have worked for. of course, that makes a lot of sense why? the banks are shut down for a week. not one transaction has been made since Monday morning. The Greek government is in such a bad shape and fear. but what can you expect from a government that has gone under a crisis four times since three decades. That explains a lot of the existing crisis.

Though the tourist areas seem to be unaffected by the situation going around Athens, the common man feels the Greece’s heat under his head. Mr. Tspiras, the Greek PM has failed in taking correct decisions to save this country from the problems it’s facing today. though a majority of Greeks are not loosing their hopes and holding on to the decisions made by the current PM. They still have hope that life in Greece will all remain the same and the downfall economy will raise in spite the decision to make on the Grexit (Greece’s Exit from the Euro). and a majority Greeks are aiming to provide a NO to the Creditors proposal.

Tourists, visiting Athens or any other part of Greece, I strongly suggest you carry enough cash to survive the holiday that you are going to make on the land of crisis as there has been a implementation by the Banks, of Greece to protect the deflation and the bankruptcy hence capped to a 60€ per day withdrawals from the ATM’s. since then there has been long awaiting queues formed all around the cities ATM’s everyday. As it is, in the past few days more than 3 billion euros have been withdrawn out of the cash machines leaving a whooping 40% machines without cash. so, you better watch out where you would make your withdrawal. the gas stations have stopped accepting cards and there is a 20 euro limit for the petrol. I hope the petrol does not run out as there are no transactions made. I suggest you have a full tank of petrol and an extra can of petrol at your car trunk.

with such limits imposed on the daily life, it has made it really hard for the common man to survive these difficult times. However, as the Greeks still hope, we really wish and hope that a deal will strike between the creditors and the Greece to make a common decision for the benefit of the people and its country of Greece. They need it and the entire world waits in anticipation of what would happen tomorrow. We can only have our hopes high and fingers crossed.